What do we do ?
by MochaBubbles
Summary: Claire goes through a traumatic experience and relies on her older sister to help her through it. Please let me know if it's worth continuing.
1. Chapter 1

Claire was sitting on the edge of her bed. Her body wracked with sobs as she impulsively bit her thumb while tears ran down her face. Her usual pristine appearance was replaced with a rugged, disheveled look, a look no one had ever seen before. Her long, dark red hair was slightly frizzed, and the loose curls at the ends were beginning to get matted. She didn't know if she was covered in dirt or bruises, or both. Her hand shook as she reached for her cell phone that was on her bed side table. She wiped away the tears and began dialing.

Ring. Ring. Ring.

Finally someone answered.

"Hello ?", a female voice said.

"Karen ?" , her voice sounding smaller than ever as she struggled to hold back her sobs.

"Hey, I was just about to call you. What's wrong ?" she asked concerned .

Claire tried to answer, but couldn't find her voice. All that came out was short whimper like cries that eventually turned into sobs.

"Claire ? Claire, are you okay ?"

She took a deep breath.

"Claire?"

"Karen something happened.." is all she managed to say before her breathing suddenly became labored and she felt like she didn't have any air.

"Claire, talk to me . What happened? Are you hurt?"

Claire could only manage to get short breaths in and was on the verge of hyperventilating.

"Karen I need you. Please, Can you -"

Her breaths continued to shorten, and her tears continued to fall.

"Calm down, calm down. I'm on my way. I'm gonna pack a few things and I'm coming. Okay? "

Claire nodded, even though she knew Karen couldn't see her. She managed to get out a faint okay.

CUT TO: KAREN AT HOME

Karen hung up the phone and stood there with worry and panic spread across her face. Her husband notices.

"You okay honey?" Scott said.

"Yeah, I just got off the phone with Claire." She said as she made her way to the closet grabbing her suitcase.

"And...? You're leaving ?"

"She said she needs me. Honey are you gonna be okay with the boys by yourself for a few days ? " she said now putting clothes in her suitcase.

"Yeah but what's wrong ? Is she alright?"

"I don't know. She was crying, all she said was she needed me. I mean I can't just not go"

"I'm not saying don't go, but if you don't even know what's wrong how can you be sure it's worth flying all the way down there? Is there any way you can find out from someone else?"

She paused for a second.

"You're right." She picked up her phone again and began dialing.

CUT TO: ZARA AT OFFICE PARTY

Zara is sitting by the bar sipping her drink , that no doubt a man had sent over to her. She scrolled through her emails , not paying attention to the chatter and loud music surrounding her.

The bartender came up to her .

"Can I get you anything else? Compliments of that gentleman over there" he said pointing.

Zara only briefly looked up.

"A scotch on the rocks with a twist please."

"You've got it"

She continued on her phone when it starts ringing. It was her bosses sister. That's odd. She's never called her directly before, she didn't even know she had her number. She was probably looking for Claire and couldn't reach her. Claire only left maybe half an hour ago. She sighed and answered.

"Hello ?" Her British accent echoed into the phone.

"Hi, is this Zara ?"

"Yes. Are you looking for Ms. Dearing ?" She asked confused.

"Uh, no, not exactly. This is her sister Karen."

"Yes I know who you are. "

"Great. Can you just tell me what's going on ? Is Claire okay? "

She got a confused look on her face as the bartender set her drink down in front of her. She mouthed the words Thank You and nodded.

"What do you mean is she okay? Why wouldn't she be ? I was just with her "

"She called me a few minutes ago and she's crying her eyes out but she didn't say what was wrong."

"I just saw her maybe 30 minutes ago. Our company's having there annual party tonight but she said she was tired and went home."

"Well, would you be able to stop by her place and check on her and let me know ? I could barely understand her she was crying so much. "

Zara took a long chug of her drink before responding.

"Absolutely. I'll go right now. " she said as she grabbed her purse and made her way to the door.

"Thank you so much. God I'm so worried, I'm like freaking out." She said, sounding slightly relieved.

"I'm sure she's fine. She had a few drinks , she's probably just feeling sick. I'll let you know after I talk to her , alright ?"

"God I hope so. Thanks again. "

"Mmhmm" she said as they both hung up.

Claires condo was only a 10 minute walk, if that. But after a few minutes Zara's feet started aching. Damn heels. But dressing nice was mandatory for events like this. She was dressed in a sheek black dress that fitted to her upper body, but flowey once it reached her hips. But she look like a slob compared to Claire. Claire had worn one of her dresses that was on the shorter side, which usually made her uncomfortable, but Zara didn't know why, she looked hot. Claire walked in the room and all eyes were on her, her long dark red hair flowed down her back flawlessly while her gold wedges matched her jewelry in a seamless way. Of course most of the men had to quickly look away and pretend to be interested in something else. That was there boss, they couldn't be staring at there boss like that. But Claire and Zara had been sitting at the bar for the better part of an hour before Claire had decided to leave. They had both had a few drinks and Claire had said she was tired. So Zara thought nothing of it.

EARLIE THAT NIGHT:

"Can I buy you a drink ?" A young man asked Claire as she sat on the barstool with Zara. He had to have been at least 5 years younger that Claire and probably barely old enough to drink, but she was flattered by his confidence.

"No thank you , I'm working tomorrow" she smiled meekly . She almost had to shout over the music.

"Oh, bummer." He winked at her. "Someone as sexy as you shouldn't have to work." He smiled and walked away, giving her a devilish smile.

She looked at Zara . They both burst out into laughter simultaneously.

"Oh god, how old do you think he was?" Claire asked still laughing.

"I have no idea, but Claire I'm telling you you can't come to an office party, be the hottest woman in the room and refuse to throw back at least a few of the free drinks you know men are going to be buying you all night." She smirked as the bartender slid two shots in front of them.

"Courtesy of the gentlemen in blue ." He nodded to his right.

Zara smiled and held up her shot at him. Claire looked at him and back at Zara.

"How do you know these weren't meant for you ? " Claire asked.

"Because he's still waiting for you to acknowledge him. Come on Claire, a few won't hurt."

"I really shouldn't."

"You're going to make me drink all your free drinks by myself ?" She said.

Claire smirked at her before rolling her eyes and picking up her shot glass. She held it up to the man in blue, to which he smiled (now she knew they were defiantly for her) and clinked it with Zara's and they both tossed the shot back. The burn in Claires throat was all to obvious by the look on her face.

"What was that?" She said almost coughing.

"Patron maybe. I'm not sure, but whatever it is is going to help you relax."

"Yeah, or make me throw up and have an awful hangover."

"Good ! When was the last time you had a hangover ?"

Claire thought , oh god it's been years. Maybe senior year of college ?

"Exactly!" Zara said matter-of-factly in response to Claires silence.

After a few minutes of chit chatting and laughter Lowery came over and hung out with the two for a while before being dragged away by some of the other control room guys to play beer pong, and as if on que the bartender slid over more complimentary drinks. The Patron must have been kicking in because Claire didn't hesitate before picking up the margarita and sipping on it. But after her 4th drink her eyes were getting heavy and she just needed sleep. She had always had a low tolerance when it came to alcohol, especially tequila. So she wished Zara luck finishing all the drinks that were lined up and headed home.

CUT TO: CLAIRE

Claire had just hung up with Karen and felt a small sense of relief. Her sister was coming. Thank god. All her life she always looked up to Karen for advice, even as adults. Since she moved to Costa Rica their visits had become few and far between. But they talked on the phone all the time and they still had that sister bond, a bond where she could call her at 10:30pm and tell Karen she needed her and Karen jump right on a plane, no questions asked. And that's all she really needed right now. She needed her sister.

She set her phone down and began trying to calm herself down. She took some deep breaths. After a few minutes she was able to breath normally again, despite the tears still falling. Her head still felt fuzzy and she knew she was still semi-drunk as shot stood up. She slowly walked to the bathroom. The light seemed brighter than ever, but that wasn't as bad as her seeing herself in the mirror. She almost gasped as she took in her appearance. She was wearing a short, skin tight dark blue dress that now had stains all over it. Her makeup was not totally out of place, but it was messy either way. Her hair , which had been half up half down with loose curls at the ends was now starting to frizzed and was completely down . Her arms were scrapped and she could see a bruise was starting to form on her cheek, around a cut that was starting to sting. She opened the cabinet and get out cotton balls and alcohol. She dabbed the cut , trying to be as gentle as possible. It still hurt like a bitch, but she could live with it. She didn't want to change yet, she didn't know why. She was filthy, but something told her to wait. She slowly walked out of the bathroom and out into the kitchen. Opening a cabinet she grabbed an orange pill bottle labeled 'XANAX' and took one, washing it down with some water.

CUT TO: ZARA

Zara walked into the hotel where Claires condo was located and entered the code into the elevator to go up to the top floor and getting they key she had to Claires place out.

CUT TO: CLAIRE

Standing there for a second , she didn't know what to do now. Should she call someone else ? Should she take off work tomorrow ? But her thoughts were interrupted by a knock on her door. Jumping , she thought about not answering it. Whoever it is could call her and if it isn't that important it can wait until tomorrow. Yeah, she wasn't going to answer she decided as she turned back around ignoring it. After a minute the knocking stopped. She still stood there in the kitchen, gripping the counter. She didn't even notice more tears brimming in her eyes.

Click. 

Her door opened and she spun around shocked and frightened. It was her assistant, Zara. She looked concerned , annoyed , and upset all at the same time. She was still dressed up too and was holding her phone in her hand along with keys.

"Claire, what's going on ? Your sister just called me freaking the hell out and -"

She took in Claires appearance.

"Oh my god. What happened ?"

Claire sniffles before responding "This isn't a good time Zara." Her voice was shaky. She tried to turn away so Zara wouldn't see her face.

She walked over to Claire and gasped as she looked her over.

"Claire, your earlobe is torn ! "

"What?" She asked confused. She brought her hand up and felt her ear, it was bloody and indeed torn. "Oh god"

"My god, you're covered in bruises!"

Claire still didn't say anything. She was still looking at her hand, now bloody from her earlobe. She didn't know what to say.

"We're you mugged ? Do you need me to take you to the hospital ?" She said very concerned

"No. I'm fine. Karen's on her way." She said calm.

"On her way ? On her way from Wisconsin? Right now ?"

Claire nodded. Zara sighed, Karen never mentioned she was on her way, only that she was concerned. Now she knew why. Claire looked like hell.

"You really expect me to believe you're fine ?"

Zara gave her a bewildered look. Before responding.

"Well I'm staying until she gets here."

Claire felt like her voice was too weak to argue, but she tried anyway. She didn't sound convincing , but she tried.

"You don't have to-" She couldn't even finish her sentence. She felt dazed and lightheaded.

"Woah, come on- Let's sit you down." Zara led her over to the couch where they both sat down. Claire sat down easy, obviously in pain, which did not go unnoticed by Zara. She defiantly didn't end up like this just from a few drinks. Something happened.

"Can I get you anything ?"

"No. I'm just gonna wait for Karen." She said, her eyes still red and puffy. Tears threatening to fall.

Zara let out a sympathetic sigh.

"Well do you want to change ? You must be chilly."

"I will."

My god. Her voice was so light , Zara didn't know what to do. What could she do ? This wasn't the same Claire she had been doing shots with less than an hour ago.

"Let me get you a blanket then. Maybe you lay down for a bit until she gets here ? " She said, making it more of a statement that a question. Before Claire could respond Zara had hopped up and opened the closet door pulling out a neatly folded blanket. She started unfolding it and walking towards her when she noticed that Claire had shifted slightly on the couch , Zara was pretty sure she was zoned out. She didn't seem to notice Zara stopped walking and was staring at her. Her mouth slowly started to open and one hand covered her mouth. When Claire moved , her legs had shifted and part of her dress had come up, not a lot, but just enough for Zara to see bruises and an almost shiny fluid on Claires inner thighs. The realization crashed over her and she had to keep herself from panicking.

"Oh Jesus Claire" slipped out of her mouth.

Tears weld in her eyes as Claires face fell into her hands as she began sobbing again. Zara removed her hand from her mouth and slowly walked over to her fragile boss. She wasn't sure what to do. She knew she shouldn't touch her, so she placed the blanket around Claire and sat down a few inches away from her. Claire ran her hands through her hair and tried to catch her breath. _She should take another XANAX_ , she thought. Her sobs were becoming almost uncontrollable. She wasn't hysterical, but she was upset enough that she could easily start to have another panic attack if she didn't calm down. Before she knew it Zara had gotten up and went into the kitchen and was walking over to her and handed her a glass of water.

"Here, try and drink something."

Claire took the water and took a few sips. She started calming down. Her sobs were beginning to lessen. After a few minutes she had calmed down a decent amount. She was still crying , but it was under control. It had been a while since either of them had said anything. Zara broke the silence.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

Claire sat there for a minute, not even looking up before slowly shaking her head.

"No." Her voice sounding congested as tears continued running down her face.

"You have to go to the hospital. You need to be looked at"

Claire thought for a second and then shook her head no. "I just need to think" she sounded upset now. She rested her hands on the sides of her head and was using her knees to support her arms.

"Well what do you want to do then ? You have injuries that need to be treated. " Zara insisted.

"And I'll deal with them when Karen gets here. " she said sternly.

"Okay." Zara said, obviously not agreeing with her.

Claire laid down on the couch and covered herself with the blanket.

"When she gets off the ferry can you make sure theres a car to bring her here ?"

Claire asked.

"Absolutely. Don't worry about it, I'll take care of everything. I'll go call right now." Zara said as she dialed a number while walking into the other room.

She held the phone up to her ear and listened to the rings before someone finally picked up. She quickly looked to make sure Claire couldn't hear her.

"Hello ?" he said

"Lowery, are you busy ?"

"Uh, no. I'm just leaving the office now. This party's still in full swing. Where'd you go ? You were here 10 minutes ago and then I look up and you were gone ."

"I'm with Claire. I need you to do me a favor and it has to stay between us, okay ?"

"Yeah Okay. What is it ?"

"I need you to go to the control room and get the security footage of Claire leaving the party."

"Uh, that's kind of shady but I guess I could do it. Can I ask why ? "

She paused for a minute before vaguely answering. "I'm Just looking for something. But it's really important and I need it tonight. Can you drop it off ?"

"Uh, yeah. Give me like half an hour"

"That's fine. And hey ?"

"Yeah?" He said

"Please don't watch it. If what I think is on there is on there I don't want anyone else seeing. Okay? "

"This is sounding shadier and shadier every second. What's on there that's so terrible ?"

"That's what I'm saying , I don't know yet. That's why I need to look"

"Okay. I'll be there soon."

"Thank you"

She hung up and quickly organized for Karen's pick up from the ferry. She should be here by morning.

She walked back into the room to see Claire on the couch, still awake but her eyes were droopy. Zara had never seen her boss like this. She's worked for Claire for years, she knew almost everything about her and Claire knew almost everything about Zara. She'd met her fiancé multiple times, they'd gone out to Margaritaville more that a few times, they've gone on countless business trips together and stayed in the same hotel room, they've exchanges stories about their families. Zara had met Claires sister twice , but never her nephews. She knew her and her sister talked at least once a week on the phone, sometimes for hours laughing and reminiscing. But this Claire, this broken Claire was something she'd never seen. The saddest she had ever seen Claire was after she got a phone call from her mother explaining the doctors thought she might have cancer. She was distraught for weeks after that phone call. But Zara had never seen Claire cry. Even after watching horribly sad movies, Zara cried her eyes out during every single one of those sad movies that often played at the theater. Not once did Claire cry. Claire and her went to the movies a few times a month as a break for the two of them. But being on an island they couldn't get new movies, so the park played older ones. She almost believed Claire was part robot because of her lack of emotions. But now, she knows she was wrong. Claire always have off a peppy vibe, always smiling , always made he best of a bad situation.

Zara didn't know what to do. It had been almost half an hour. Claire had drifted to sleep a few minutes ago.

Dammit , she was supposed to call Karen. She got up and quietly walked into the other room, Claires bedroom and dialed Karen's number.

"Hello ?" She said

"Hi, Karen. " she said , her tone of voice obviously revealed something was wrong.

"Hi" she answered, sounding like se was in a hurry. " I'm at the airport now. My flight leaves in 20 minutes. Did you see Claire? " she asks concerned.

Zara paused for a second.

"I'm here with her now. She just fell asleep." Zara said trying to avoid the question she knew was coming.

"Well is she okay? Did she say what was wrong?"

"She didn't say...but I think I know. And I don't think I should say until we know for sure." She said , sounding apologetic.

"What do you mean ? Was she attacked ?" She asked impatiently.

Zara signed, not knowing what to say.

"I- I think she was.. _assaulted_." She felt sick just thinking of the real word.

Karen was quiet for a second. Whatever she was doing she had stopped and Zara now had her complete attention.

"Assaulted? Like _sexually_ assaulted ? You think she was raped ? " Karen asked now sounding like she was about to cry.

"I think so, but she wouldn't say."

She could now hear Karen crying through the phone.

"Oh god. Is she okay ? She needs to go to the hospital."

"That's what I told her but she said she's not doing anything until you get here." Zara said sympathetically.

Karen sighed and tried to collect herself.

"Do you know who would do this ?" She said through sniffles.

"Don't worry, I have a friend bringing over security camera footage and we're gonna figure it out. It'll be fine." She said trying to give Karen some sense of relief.

"I just- I don't even know what to think . I mean, she's my baby sister. What do you even _say_ to someone who's been raped ?" She asked

"Hey, remember we're not even 100% sure about that. When we find out we'll go from there. Okay? But for right now we just need to focus on you getting here to see Claire."

"It's a 5 hour flight. I should be there by 5:00am. "

"I've already got everything set up. Just fly safe and I'll see you in a bit."

"Okay , thanks." She said, still sounding like she was crying.

Zara hung up and stood there for a second before walking back out to the living room. Claire was still asleep on the couch. Good, she was gonna try and keep it that way. She sat down in the chair across from the sofa she was asleep on. Now all she had to do was wait for Karen.

This was going to be the longest, most upsetting 5 hours.


	2. Chapter 2

Zara sat quietly on her phone. It was 11:15, _Lowery should be here any minute, she thought_. She looked over at Claire, she was still asleep and looked more snuggled into the couch now. Her breathing was light and she looked peaceful as her chest would rise and fall. God, how is she going to feel when she wakes up?

Chime. Chime.

Zara got a text message. She immediately opened it. It was from Lowery.

 _'I'm downstairs . Can you buzz me up?'_

Zara got up and walked to the door and quietly opened it. She looked to make sure she didn't wake Claire, and it didn't. She didn't even stir. Good.

Zara walked over to the elevator and entered her access code. It approved and within 30 seconds Lowery was stepping off the elevator. He held up a DVD case.

"All the footage is on here."

Zara sighed in relief.

"Great." She took the DVD. "Thank you so much." She said.

"No problem. So .. Is everything okay?" He asked confused.

Zara nodded. "Why wouldn't it be ?"

"Just curious." He said with his voice trailing off as he looked away.

Zara narrowed her eyes at him. She stared at him for a second waiting for him to make eye contact with her. After a second he did, and then immediately broke it.

She gasped as her eyes slightly widened and her voice became harsh.

"You watched it didn't you!" She said in a harsh whisper.

"What?!" He said trying to act innocent .

"Oh my god, I told you not too !"

"Well, I couldn't put ALL the footage on the disk, I had to narrow it down or else you'd never get through it all ! I had to watch some of it !" He said defensively and apologetic at the same time.

"And what did you see on this 'some of it' you HAD to watch ? Hmm?" She said annoyed.

"Nothing I swear ! I saw Claire leaving the party, and ..." He stopped

Zara raised her eyebrows impatiently waiting for him to continue. She tapped her fingers waiting.

"And ...?" She asked angrily. But still whispering.

"And.." he sighed " I saw someone following her, but I didn't see who it was!"

"That's all?"

"I stopped watching after that and just burned the rest of the footage onto the disk. But.." He

"But what?"

He sighed again, but this was a sad sigh. "She was kind of, you know, stumbling. I mean, I could tell she was drunk just by watching the tape. And then you add in a man following her, it's not that hard to put the pieces together and figure out where you're going with this."

This made Zara look slightly less angry.

"Well thank you but this is none of your concern . It's being handled." She said turning to walk back to Claires.

"Woah, wait."

She turned and looked at him.

"What do you mean 'being handled'? Do you know who it was ?"

"No, that's why I needed this tape." She said briefly flashing it up.

"But I mean, she called the police right?"

Zara shook her head. "She called her sister, her sister called me. And when I got here she was a mess. She's _still_ a mess, and I don't know how she's going to be when she wakes up. " she said as she motioned her hand towards Claires door and then running her hands through her hair, looking stressed.

It was quiet for a few seconds.

"So, she was...?" He didn't want to ask, mainly because he didn't want to hear the answer he knew was coming.

Zara lightly nodded. "I think so."

"You think so?"

"She said didn't want to talk about it" Zara said.

"So you just know ?" He asked confused

"No I don't 'just know'. She's got bruises all over her, her earlobe is torn, she's got a cut on her face and there's , what I assume , is semen dried on her thighs!"

His face drops as she continues.

"She was hysterical and called her sister to fly down from Wisconsin in the middle of the night and she refuses to tell me how she ended up like this. Now I don't know about you, but to me I think that sounds like someone who's just been assaulted. " she finished angrily.

She takes a few deep breaths and calms herself down.

"This is why I didn't want you watching the tape. If Claire decides to deal with this on her own, I'm sure she'd like the privacy of no one else knowing." She finished calmly.

He stood there, speechless.

"You should go."she said.

He nodded.

"Yeah." He turned back towards he elevator, but before he got on he looked back to Zara.

"Let me know if she needs anything. Okay? We're friends, anything I can do to help. Whatever she needs. You too."

Zara lets out a small smile and nods.

"Okay."

"Seriously . One call- I'm there."

"Alright, I hear you. I'll call. "

"Okay. Be safe."

He gets on the elevator and Zara lightly smiles while the doors close. She stands there for a second before heading back into Claires condo. She was still in the same position as when she left. Zara sets the DVD on the counter and walks back over and sits in the same chair as earlier.

She must have dozed off, because she was awoken by the sound of her cellphone ringing. She quickly looked at the time, 4:24am before she scrambled to get her phone. She quickly answered before looking to see Claire still asleep on the couch , just facing the other way.

"Hello?" She said quietly. She didn't even look at the caller ID.

"Hey, I just got off the ferry and I'm in the car now on my way Claires. " Karen said.

That was quick. Zara was still waking up, so it took her a second to remember and process everything.

"Yeah, of course." She stuttered out. "I'll meet you downstairs. "

"Okay. How is she?"She said concerned.

"I don't know, she's still sleeping."Zara said barely above a whisper.

"That's good I guess. I'll be there soon."

"Okay, see you soon"

They both hung up and Zara sat there and rubbed her eyes, waking herself up.

Just as she stood up Claire began to stir. She stopped and waited, after a few seconds her eyes opened. She looked over at Zara and looked slightly surprised.

"You're still here " she said .

"Of course I'm still here" she said walking over and sitting at the end of the couch. "I just talked to your sister. She's on her way, it'll only be a few minutes until she's here"

Claire looked confused for a minute, then the realization hit her. She put her hand over her face as if she were ashamed.

"I called Karen." She said sounding guilty.

"Yeah." Zara said as she put her hand on Claires arm. "How are you feeling?"

She slightly shrugged. "I don't know. I just-..." She deeply exhaled, "I don't

know how I feel."

"That's okay. You just rest" She said as she got up.

"Wait."Claire said desperately.

Zara turned around and looked at her.

Claire was tearing up again.

"What is it?" Zara asked concerned

Claire was quiet for a minute and then tears fell from her eyes.

"I can't remember everything ..." She said.

"What do you mean?" Zara asked

Claire sat herself up.

"Nothing. " she said waving it off. "Where are you going ?"

"I was going to meet Karen down stairs."

She shook her head.

"Are you going to be okay for a few minutes ?"

Claire nodded. "I'll be fine." She said with a small fake smile.

Zara gave a small nod and walked out the door.

Claire sat there in the couch thinking about the evening before. She was trying to remember everything, but there were a lot of spots in her memory. She didn't know why, she always had an excellent memory. She rubbed her temples as she simultaneously tried to remember everything as well as forget it all.

She couldn't believe she called Karen, she had completely forgotten. But she was even more astonished Karen was already here, she must have gotten on a plane right after she called. God this was probably horribly inconvenient for her, to just drop everything and leave her job and her husband and her two kids to fly to Costa Rica, and Just for her. Claire felt guilty, but also happy that her sister would do this for her.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

 **WARNING** : Description of sexual assault in this chapter. Could possibly be triggering. Nothing too descriptive, but it's still tough to read.

He was watching her all night. Ever since she walked into the room he couldn't take his eyes off of her. Her striking read hair and her stunning dress almost took his breath away. The office was filled with people, but she was by far the sexiest. She was sitting at the bar with what he assumed was one of her girl friends. He watched as guy after guy approached her and he watch as she turned down every single one. He watched as the men stared at her and sent her and her friend drinks, which they just started accepting. Her smile was mesmerizing as was her laugh. He needed to be with her.

After watching her for what felt like hours, he walked over to the bartender .

"What can I get you ?" He asked

"Two of the most expensive margaritas you have."

"Coming right up."

He glanced over at Claire , she was so gorgeous. Maybe he would walk over and talk to her if he hadn't seen her reject every guy that's approached her so far.

The bartender slid the drinks in front of him and he handed the bartender $50.

"Keep the change"

He nodded as a thank you and went back to taking orders.

He pulled out a small powder substance from his jacket and looked around to make sure no one was looking. He dumped it in one of the margaritas and stirred it until it dissolved.

After a minute he signaled to the bartender.

"Actually , can you send these over to those two lovely ladies at the end of the bar." He said as he pointed to Claire and Zara.

"Woo-hoo, those gals are swimming in free drinks tonight" he said as he picked them up and started walking towards Zara and Claire. He hurried up and walked back to his original spot and watched as the bartender slid the drinks in front of the two. Luckily the one meant for Claire was actually given to Claire, that could have been a close call. He saw the bartender point to where he was standing before, probably telling them who sent the drinks over, but then he shrugged his shoulders. He watched as they picked up their glasses and clinked them together and started drinking them. He couldn't help but smirk a little. This was going to help Claire relax, maybe even relax enough to not turn him down.

He chugged down his 4th scotch as he continued glancing over at Claire, making sure she didn't leave. He was now laughing with a bunch of other drunk office workers. It had been a while since she finished her margarita and he could tell it was staring to kick in. She wasn't laughing as much and she looked like she was getting tired. _God she looks cute when she's tired,_ he thought.

He watched her as she said goodnight to her friend and started to leave. He hurried up and excused himself from his group and followed her out from a distance.

She was walking down the main road of the park where all the shops were and he noticed she was slightly stumbling. This was his chance. After following for a few minutes he started purposely trying to catch up with her. There was now only a few people out since they were closer to the hotels instead of the park now. He saw she dropped her purse on the ground and she went to pick it up.

He swooped in and grabbed it.

"Let me get that for you." He said as he handed it to her and flashed her a smile.

She lightly smiled, her eyes distant and her speech just the slightest bit slurred. "Thank you, I'm not usually clumsy like that."

He laughed and he noticed she started swaying like she was going to fall over .

"Woah woah, are you alright ?" He said as he reached out to make sure she didn't fall.

She looked confused as to why she was in this state" Yeah, I'm fine. Just a little dizzy."

"Can I help you get home ?" He offered

She immediately declined. "No, I'll be fine. But thank you." She started walking again. She once again stumbled and grabbed the railing to steady herself.

"Yeah, I'm gonna make sure you get home okay. " he said and didn't give her time to respond as he stood her up and wrapped his arm around her hip to help her walk.

"No really I-" she started to say before giving in.

She looked confused and out of it as he started walking her, he could tell she wanted to protest because she kept trying to push his hand off her hip, but her words were to quiet for him to make out.

After a minute she stopped walking and placed one of her hands on her head, it looked like she was trying to see if she had a fever.

Her words were choppy as she tried to get them out. "Somethings.."her breathing became heavy. "Somethings not right. I don't-"she trailed off.

At this point they were basically at her hotel. But they were closer to the side entrance.

"Why don't we get you up to your room and lay you down , you look like you've had too much to drink." He said as he practically yanked her to keep moving. She looked offended as he grabbed her and she noticed he looked her up and down. Now she was alarmed and could tell something was wrong. She didn't say anything. He looked her in the eyes for a second before crashing his lips against hers. Her eyes stayed open she she tried to process what was happening. He roughly kissed her for a second, and was ignoring her as she tried to say No and push him away.

She pulled away from him after a second and tried to find her "boss voice".

"What are you doing?"she said as her voice was still choppy.

"Come on baby" he said as he went in for another kiss. She turned her head to the side and tried to move away.

"Stop it" was all she managed to say.

This made him angry.

"You think you're better than me ?"

He said , his voice deepening as a sickening smile peeled across his face as he pulled her closer. She could smell the scotch on his breath as he started angrily breathing.

Her head was spinning and she was getting more and more dizzy by the minute. He put his hand on the small of her back and pulled her into another kiss despite her resistance. This time her head was so fuzzy she couldn't find the strength to push him away, all she could do was try and pull her head back, but as soon as she broke away from him, his other hand went to the back of her head and pushed her back on to his lips. She started pushing her hands against his chest, trying to force him away from her.

He pulled away after a minute , breathing heavily. He placed his hand on her cheek.

"You need to stop, I don't want -" she started to say before he interrupted her.

"I know you want me baby." He said as his hands started roaming and he began kissing her neck.

Claire built up all the inner strength she could find and pushed him away as hard as she could, freeing herself from his grip.

He looked at her with a mixture of anger and confusion.

"What's the matter honey?" He laughed as he reached out for her.

She gave him a disgusted look. "Don't touch me. You need to leave. And you'll be receiving sexual harassment papers tomorrow morning" she said as she made her way for the side entrance.

He stayed put. "Come on sweetheart, we were just starting to have fun " he said as he held his arms out.

She opened her purse and got out her ID badge and scanned it. The door beeped and unlocked. She pulled it open and stumbled inside before going to slam it shut. She was on the bottom floor in the small stairwell, the only way out to the elevators was up the stairs.

Suddenly she felt a strong force grab her from behind and push up against her, his hands wrapping around her stomach as his mouth grazed her neck before going up to her ear. He pushed her up against the wall and ran his hands over her body causing her to instinctively try and get him off.

"You're not going anywhere." He said sounding angry and he reached over and shut the door behind him.

She could feel his erection through his pants and panic washed over her whimpered as she desperately tried to get him off of her. He pushed her hard into the wall , making her hit her head. She cried out in pain as she began to look around.

She was looking for the inside keypad. That one had an emergency button. Just as she saw it and went to try and move towards it he grabbed her by her hair and pulled her backwards into him. "You know you want me" He whispered in her ear. She let out a cry as he spun her around and slammed her against the wall. She didn't know if it was anger or fear or both that built up inside her and she swung her fist as hard as she could , hitting him in the mouth. She immediately knew it was a mistake.

He groaned and pulled away , holding his lip. He pulled his hand away to reveal a split lip that was now bleeding. She saw the anger in his eyes.

"You bitch!" He said as he punched her , hitting her cheek causing her to slide down the wall, fresh tears falling. She held her face as she unknowingly started crying.

She tried to get up , the floor was filthy and she was getting dirt all over her, but right now that was the least of her problems. His breathing was harsh as his anger seared into her. She looked away , tears still running down her face as he walked towards her.

"Please stop." She whimpered

He didn't say anything, he just yanked her by her ear , to which she cried out. He pushed her further on to the floor so she couldn't get up, and in the process ripped her dress. She looked up at him and saw him undo his zipper and hover over top her. Her crying and tears didn't seem to bother him as he aggressively pulled down her lacey underwear. The worst part was he was tormenting her by dragging it out, he was going slow just to scare her and she was sickened that he was almost trying to seem romantic. He kept trying to interlace their fingers. She didn't try and stop him, she just cried and kept telling him not to . Throughout the whole thing , she didn't even think he heard her staying "No" and "please Stop" above his moaning. He kept trying to kiss her, she tried to turn away, but he always got her and if that wasn't bad enough, he started using his tongue. Everything was fuzzy and she had no idea how long she'd been in the stairwell. She kept spacing out, but never stopped crying. She almost felt like she was going to be sick when she felt the warm fluid between her legs and heard his loud moans of pleasure.

She didn't hear what he said to her as he left, but he left her in the stairwell bruised, bleeding, crying , and drugged. She was able to pull herself up and get up the stairs to the elevator without running into anyone, her head spinning the whole time.

She quickly scanned her ID and pressed the button for the top floor. In the elevator she quietly cried and couldn't help but notice the feel of the fluid on her thighs. She stopped herself- she didn't want to think about it. So she looked through her purse and got out her keys as the elevator doors opened.

When she walked into her condo she went into her bedroom and sat her purse and phone on her nightstand before easily sitting on her bed. She felt a sharp pain and adjusted herself so it wasn't as bad.

She was still dizzy and confused and all she wanted to do was cry. She started biting her thumb as tears ran down her face before reaching for her cell phone and began dialing Karen's number.


	4. Chapter 4

Zara waited down stairs for maybe 10 minutes before Karens car pulled up. She opened up the door and stepped out, looking like she hadn't slept at all on the plane , which she probably hadn't. She had bags under her eyes and they were all red and puffy. All she had with her was a small suitcase and a duffle bag. Zara walked over to help her.

"That's okay , I've got it" she said as she swung the strap over her shoulder.

Zara nodded and leaned near the window and thanked the driver, it was her and Claires usual driver. Then he drove off.

"She woke up just after you called. She forgot she called you" Zara said as they began walking into the hotel.

"And she still hasn't said anything?" She asked concerned.

"Right before I came down here she started saying she 'couldn't remember everything', but just waived it off ."

"Maybe it was the alcohol, how much did she drink?" She said as Zara entered the code for the elevator as the two step in and head up.

Zara slightly stuttered as she tried to recall all of Claires drinks . "Uh, a shot, maybe two, a few margaritas."

Karen signed. "She knows how she gets when she drinks tequila."

Zara looked over at her with a slight glare in her eyes. "You're not suggesting this was her fault?"

Karen looks like she's rethinking what she said. "No that's- that's not what I meant I just-" she put her hand over her face and looked like she was feeling stupid. "I'm sorry, I'm still trying to process everything"

Zara patted her arm.

"We all are."

Karen gave a slight smile as the elevator door opened.

They walked over to Claires door and Zara unlocked it , both of them waking in. Karen quickly looked around before setting her things down by the door. Claire wasn't on the couch.

"She was right there." Zara said pointing to the couch.

"Maybe she's in the bathroom." Karen said as she walked over to the bathroom. She lightly knocked.

"Claire?" She knocked as she opened the door. Nothing.

She turned around and looked at Zara with a confused look, to which Zara shrugged .

Suddenly the bedroom door opened and Claire walked out , but she had a robe wrapped around her.

"Claire.." Karen said as she walked up to her sister and wrapped her arms around her as tears fell from her face. Claire hugged her back and started crying as well.

"I can't believe you're here" Claire sniffled.

"Of course I'm here." Karen said.

"No, I can't believe you came all the way here ." She said.

After a second Karen pulled back, keeping her arms on Claires shoulders. She looked at her disheveled appearance and gasped.

Then she saw her torn earlobe.

"Oh my god." She gasped. "Are you okay?" Karen thought for a second. "That was a stupid question, you're obviously not okay."

Claire tried to cover her ear with her hair.

"It's not as bad as it looks" she tried to convince herself and Karen.

They hadn't noticed Zara had grabbed her things.

"I'm going to give you two some time together. I'll be back in a few hours. Okay?"

Claire nodded. "Yeah. Thank you Zara. "

"Call me if either of you need anything ." She said

Karen nodded. "Thanks. "

Zara gave a small smile and left.

Karen looked back at her broken little sister. "Do you go wanna sit down ?" She asked.

Clair have the smallest scoff with a small smile "yeah, my head is pounding."

"Okay come on. " Karen said as she helped her to the couch. They both sat down, Claire leaned against Karen for support as Karen wrapped her arm around her.

They sat in silence for a few seconds before Karen noticed Claire beginning to cry again. She looked at her and gave her a small nudge.

"Hey, come on talk to me. What can I do?" She asked genuinely.

Claire thought for a moment before answering.

" _I_ don't even know what to do. I never thought anything like this would ever happen to me. " she sniffled as she started to cry again.

Karen rubbed her arms in a soothing way. "Shhhhh, it's okay." She said

"Do you want to tell me what happened ?" She asked , trying to get Claire to open up.

"I would if I remembered everything." She said, barely any emotion in her voice. "I don't even remember calling you. I can't believe I did that" She said sounding embarrassed.

"You're my sister. You can always come to me with _anything_. No matter what, I'll always be there." Karen said.

"I know." Claire smiled and leaned into her.

After a few minutes she decided to try again to get Claire to tell her what happened. Zara told her what she suspected happened, but Karen was hoping that wasn't it.

"Honey what do you remember?" She was trying not to be pushy, but couldn't help herself.

Claire though for a second.

"Um, I was at the company party with Zara. We were at the bar, all these drinks kept getting sent over .." She put her hands on her temples as if she was trying to remember. "I must have drank too much because I started feeling dizzy and tired so I left and started walking back here."

She didn't say anything else for a few seconds.

" And you know I've never handled tequila well"

Karen nodded. "Yeah, I had my fair share of nights holding your hair back for you while we tried to dodge mom" She smiled.

Claire gave a small laugh.

"Oh god don't remind me. " they both laughed for a second.

Claire became serious again.

"But I don't think it was anything I drank. The way I felt was just, different. Like -" she couldn't even think of the words. "I don't even know"

After a few seconds she leaned her head into Karen's arm.

"Thank you for coming. I really shouldn't have asked you to come. But I'm glad you're here. I need you."


End file.
